Just weeks after Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo) introduced bi-partisan legislation to make marijuana lawful under a state’s marijuana laws also lawful under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation removing marijuana from the CSA altogether on Wednesday, June 27. Schumer’s bill also comes just one day after Oklahoman’s passed legislation legalizing medical marijuana in their traditionally red state, and one day before the U.S. Senate passed legislation legalizing hemp for all purposes, including extracts from hemp, such as cannabidiol.

By removing from the purview of the CSA, state-legal cannabis and proceeds derived therefrom, the Warren/Gardner legislation, if passed, would likely have the effect of nationwide legalization, but state operators and consumers would still need to be concerned about marijuana’s Schedule 1 status under the CSA, whereas the Schumer bill, if passed, would eliminate those concerns by removing marijuana from the CSA.

Authored by Robert Prince, Ph.D, https://www.duanemorris.com/attorneys/robertwprince.html

On Thursday April 18, 2018, at 8:00AM-12:30PM EST, an FDA advisory panel will consider whether to recommend or not recommend approval of GW Pharmaceutical’s cannabis-based drug Epidiolex ® for use in treating two rare types of epilepsy in children- Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Epidiolex is an oral formulation of a purified form of cannabidiol (CBD) a component found in cannabis. CBD does not have any psychoactive effects as compared to another component of cannabis tetrahydocannabinol (THC). Epidiolex has less than 0.1 percent of THC.

If approved, Epidiolex would be the first botanical cannabis product approved in the U.S. for any indication. The FDA has approved Marinol® and Syndros® for uses in the U.S. for the treatment of anorexia associated with weight loss in AIDS patients. Both products contain dronabinol, a synthetic delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Another FDA approved drug Cesamet® contains nabilone, which is a synthetic drug with a structure similar to THC that is used to treat nausea and vomiting.

The FDA released briefing documents on April 17, 2018, which did not seem to raise any major issues with Epidiolex, resulting in the share price of GW Pharmaceuticals to rise sharply- up 2.27%. The Center for Drug for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) indicates that it plans to provide a free of charge, live webcast of the April 19, 2018 meeting of the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee. Information regarding the webcast, including the web address for the webcast, will be made available at the following website: http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/Calendar/default.htm. At the time of writing this note, the FDA has not provided any login information for the webcast.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is accepting comments to help formulate the United States’ position on the World Health Organization’s recommendations on certain drug substances, including cannabis extracts and cannabidiol (CBD), in preparation of a meeting of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (Commission) to be held on March 2018.

In November 2017, after the WHO Expert Committee for Drug Dependence (Expert Committee) met, the Expert Committee issued its recommendations for scheduling various substances under international control, pursuant to international treaties such as the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971 Convention) and the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961 Convention). The Expert Committee did not include CBD among those substances, stating instead that “there is no evidence that CBD as a substance is liable to similar abuse and similar ill-effects as substances in 1961 or 1971 Conventions.” The Expert Committee concluded that the current information does not justify scheduling of CBD.

The Expert Committee went on, however, to note that CBD is produced for pharmaceutical purposes as an extract of cannabis, and cannabis extracts and tinctures are included in the 1961 Convention. In that regard, cannabis extracts are listed in Schedule I of the 1961 Convention which contains drugs subject to the least stringent controls, unlike Schedule I of the US Controlled Substances Act (CSA) which contains substances subject to the most stringent controls. The requirements for substances identified on Schedule I of the 1961 Convention, such as cannabis extracts, include import and export authorization, licensing of manufacturers/ distributors, recordkeeping requirements, medical use prescriptions, annual estimates of needs, quotas and statistical reporting, and limitations on use for medical and scientific purposes. As part of its recommendations report, the Expert Committee advised that it will conduct a pre-review of cannabis extracts and tinctures at its next meeting in May 2018, and it recommend that it also carry out at that meeting a critical review of cannabis extracts and preparations that contain almost exclusively CBD. Continue reading FDA Accepting Comments on CBD for UN Commission Meeting→

Several weeks ago, scientists at King’s College London announced exciting preliminary study results involving mental illness and CBD derived from cannabis. The trial involved 88 patients diagnosed as psychotic, meaning they experience hallucinations, paranoia and anxiety. The study found that patients administered CBD saw lower levels of psychotic symptoms than those given just a placebo.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is separate from the psychoactive aspect of cannabis known as THC. Thus, the patients were provided a fully non-psychoactive form of cannabis, the same as is used to treat ailments such as chronic pain or seizures, even in children.

The study results were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. As reported in the VOA News, one of the trial leaders, Philip McGuire, said, “The study indicated that CBD may be effective in psychosis: patients treated with CBD showed a significant reduction in symptoms, and their treating psychiatrists rated them as having improved overall.” McGuire also noted very few side effects to use of CBD.

A slow but steady drumbeat of study results is beginning to prove what many in the medical community have believed for a number of years: while we still don’t quite know why, CBD and cannabis may indeed provide safe and effective treatment or cure for many illnesses and diseases facing mankind today.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently issued warning letters to four companies concerning the marketing of products containing cannabidiol (CBD). FDA alleged that claims made on websites and social media webpages concerning the health benefits of CBD violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The products at issue included CBD-infused oils, edibles, tinctures and creams, and the manufacturers included statements claiming various health benefits from CBD.

Cannabis Industry

Duane Morris attorneys in offices throughout the U.S. have extensive experience with the wide array of issues attendant to legal cannabis business activities, including licensing for cultivation, processing and dispensing; litigation; banking and finance; raising and deploying capital; protecting intellectual property; real estate development; public company representation and SEC filings; land use and zoning; healthcare and research; and taxation.